Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 46 As Long As You Shoot Properly

The way an expert commander judges a player is entirely different from the way an average player or even an expert player would.

Thousand Sunsets was a very careful person. So even after hearing first hand accounts from Timely Rain and Zero Arsenic’s investigation, even after watching the process of obtaining the First Blood in person, as well as studying every single frame of the recording, he still wanted to listen to what Crimson Millions had to say.

“I’m not talking about her skills, you’ve already seen it for yourself. There’s nothing much to say about it, really. She’s simply too good. She has a very good grasp of the situation, and is very adaptable to changes.” the video reached the part where Ye Ci was firing the cannon, “She was quite a brave one. She tends to solve problems in a very bold fashion, and I’m not used to something like that.”

Thousand Sunsets laughed as well, “You were in the army once, and you’re still more hesitant than a woman.”

Crimson Millions was not angry since they had once been comrades in the army. So he could only laugh out loud, “Better safe than sorry. That’s what you taught us.”

Zero Arsenic smiled at the two, “So, it’s decided then?”

“It is.” Thousand Sunsets said as he slammed his hand onto the table.

With a shocked expression, Crimson Millions said, “Guy, you must be kidding.”

The duo shook their head.

“You are the ones who are truly bold...” Crimson Millions muttered as he rolled his eyes.

Due to a lack of sleep, Ye Ci was currently dozing in class. By the time class ended she was already slumped over the table.

Fang Shushu, at the same table as her, started teasing, “What happened to you? Did you secretly go on a date with some guy last night?

Ye Ci grinned, “I wish. I just don’t have the time for that. I’d spent last night clearing the Automaton Formation.”

“You guys are tenacious. We’ve just cleared cruel pit recently and you’ve already started exploring the Automaton Formation. It must’ve been quite hard.” Fang Shushu laughed. “We were exploring the same dungeon yesterday, our party has been annihilated so many times that I’m about to cry. I’ve heard that we’ll explore it again today. I’m almost out of money for repairing my equipment.”

“Cleared it.” Ye Ci yawned.

“Huh?” Fang Shushu’s eyeballs popped out of their sockets, she thought she’d misheard what Ye Ci had said, “Are you serious?”

Fang Shushu pestered Ye Ci with questions but she remained silent. A clear voice then suddenly rang out from outside of the classroom, “Shushu,” it was a very familiar voice. Ye Ci raised her head and saw Qin Churuo running towards where she was sitting.

Fang Shushu’s face instantly gained a a shade of red when she heard Qin Churuo calling her name, “Senior Qin.”

The two greeted each other and Qin Churuo stated his business, “Shushu, you’re close to that Gongzi, right?”

Fang Shushu subconsciously nodded, “You could say that.”

“The first thing I heard after when I arrived in campus today was that Steel-Blooded Battle Spear had cleared the Automaton Formation last night and won First Blood. I also heard that Gongzi You was a member of the party that did it.”

“Oh.” Despite having already heard the news from Ye Ci, Fang Shushu was still mildly shocked. She cast a glance at Ye Ci, who was unfortunately fast asleep, and completely disregarding the two of them.

“The forums went crazy. People are asking for Steel-Blooded Battle Spear to release videos of them clearing the dungeon. The guild refused. I just hope you can contact Gongzi You and ask if she is willing to help us out.”

“About that...” Fang Shushu stole another glance at Ye Ci. She wanted to tell Qin Churuo that Gongzi You was right there, but this was something she was not allowed to do. She could only reply vaguely, “I’ll try to get in touch with her.”

Qin Churuo let out a breath he’d been holding. After a brief conversation, he left the classroom and invited Fang Shushu to come and clear the dungeon at night.

“Did you hear that Ye Ci? Hurry up and tell me how to do it!” Fang Shushu immediately grabbed hold of Ye Ci’s hand and started begging for answers as soon as Qin Churuo left the classroom.

Ye Ci looked at Fang Shushu with half-opened eyes, and paused briefly before saying, “Just tell him to shoot properly[1].” Fang Shushu’s face immediately reddened. After confirming that Ye Ci had not pulling her leg, she noted down Ye Ci’s word in all seriousness.

When Fang Shushu relayed this to him that night, Qin Churuo also felt puzzled by Ye Ci’s words. .

By the time Ye Ci logged into the game, it was already 5 in the afternoon. The first messaged in her mailbox was from Liu Chang. It told Ye Ci in a gossipping tone, “Little Ci, I have some news for you.”

Ye Ci was never interested in gossips. Even if she did not hear any of it, it didn’t matter. She would never be as inquisitive as Liu Chang.

“What is it?” Ye Ci responded absent-mindedly, while she was crafting some arrows.

“Dong Yin has a boyfriend.” said Liu Chang with a mischievous smile.

“She’s almost 19, it’s normal to have a boyfriend, why are you acting as if you’re her mother?”

“Yes, that isn’t so strange. But, do you know who her boyfriend is?”

This wasn’t very interesting to Ye Ci. A friend’s boyfriend was none of her concern. She asked her interest waning, “Well, who is it?”

“You’ll be surprised. It’s He Xiao.” said Liu Chang slowly, word by word.

Ye Ci’s hands immediately froze. She could see that Dong Yin liked Thousand Sunsets, but she never thought that things would work out between those two. Ye Ci resumed her arrow crafting after a moment’s pause, “Is Thousand treating her well?”

“He is, according to Dong Yin.” Liu Chang laughed and wanted to continue discussing the topic with Ye Ci, but eventually gave up due to her lack of interest.

Steel-Blood Battle Spear’s two First Bloods in a row was like a ripple on a calm surface that rocked its entire Fate. Its influence continued to grow, along with its fame. The guild that was already considered a black horse once again captured everyone’s attention, and more and more players came to join the guild.

The leadership of the guild was extremely busy. Within the short span of five days, the guild had grown a lot. and Its members increased by a staggering additional 5,000.

Ye Ci had a lot of free time since she hadn’t been pressed into service to explore the new dungeons. She had the choice to go and clear some smaller dungeons on Hard Difficulty or just level up in the normal dungeons. Her days were simple, but satisfying.

After several days hard work, Ye Ci finally reached lvl 18, she was catching up to the Let_Go_Of_That_Girl who was in the leaderboards. She received a message from Gleaming Sunshine as she was leveling up in a dungeon, “Little Ci, what are you doing?”

“I’m leveling up. What’s up?” Ye Ci noticed that it was a message from Dong Yin, and with her conversation with Liu Chang from earlier, Ye Ci’s instincts told her that it was Thousand’s idea to have Dong Yin approach her.

It was as Ye Ci expected. After a short conversation with Ye Ci, Dong Yin’s revealed his intention, “Can you please come to the guild conference room,” she continued after a brief pause, “Thousand wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Ye Ci let loose a few arrows, ending the life of a monster in front of her, then prepared to return to the guild encampment.

The encampment was bustling with players, but all of them were new faces. Most were members who had just joined the guild. Of course, with thousands of members in the guild, there were also veterans who Ye Ci has never even seen before.

Ye Ci knocked on the door of the conference room, and was immediately transported into the room.

It was her first time in a guild’s conference room. Despite being a top-10 Sorceress in her past life, her despicable character meant that no guild would ever accept her. So this was an entirely new experience for her.

A long table was situated in the middle of the conference room that could easily fit a hundred players. It was identical to those dining tables used by the European aristocrats. Thousand Sunsets sat at the host’s seat at the end of the table. Gleaming Sunshine was seated on his right.

Only 3 players, including Ye Ci, was present in the conference room.

Gleaming Sunshine immediately greeted Ye Ci upon seeing her. Her face was a slight shade of red, her eyebrows moist, and she appeared to be in a good mood. It was all thanks to the quality production of Fate. Even the player’s mood could be portrayed on his or her character with a 95% accuracy. This allowed a player’s emotion to be conveyed to the people around the player.

Thousand Sunsets sent a friend invite to Ye Ci, which she did not reject. She nodded at Gleaming Sunshine and took a seat opposite Thousand Sunsets. She spoke, neither servile nor overbearing, “What do you need from me?”

Thousand Sunsets remained silent. Gleaming Sunshine stood up and said to Ye Ci, “I’ll take my leave.”

Thousand Sunsets nodded and smiled at her, “Let’s go leveling up together later.”

Gleaming Sunshine was happy. Her face reddened even further. She lowered her head and left hurriedly. She was so happy that she even forgotten to greet Ye Ci on her way out.

Ye Ci studied the interaction between Gleaming Sunshine and Thousand Sunsets, feeling slight uncomfortable.

Thousand Sunsets slowly spoke after Gleaming Sunshine left the room, “Gongzi, I’ve heard that you played before?”

Otherworld OL? Ye Ci tilted her head. For an average person, Otherworld OL was one of the most popular video games before Fate’s open beta, and it was 2 months since Fate was launched. But for Ye Ci, it was something she had done 10 years ago. And her memories of that game had already faded by this time.

Translator’s note:

[1]shoot properly (把炮打好): “打炮” literally translated as “firing the cannon” is a slang for “having sex”. So the author was making a naughty sexual joke here XD